I had no clue he was a historian with a focus on housing, economics and banking policy. The man is truly remarkable. Maybe the next book he writes will be a treatise on his million dollar opinions regarding the matter.

[...] Newt Gingrich is nothing if not a scalawag, who will take the money out of your wallet and leave you with a hangover if you believe one single word this man says. Gingrich says that all he did for that money was tell Freddie that their business model was “insane.” Anybody find that believeable? – David Frum [...]

You also forgot self-appointed serious thinker. (There must be plentiful of money in the hubris gig.)

Anyone who speaks with such ominous tone and grave demeanor has to be a serious thinker. Especially, when he says ‘these are serious times and requires serious thinking’ as an answer to what he would do to address … [pick a problem of sufficient gravity]

Gingrich is also lying through his teeth as he is now saying that he told Freddie at the time that they were stupid for lending money to people who could not pay their mortgages. However, Freddie employees are saying that Gingrich never said anything about Freddie’s business model or about lending policies, he only talked about policy and politics; ie. Freddie only hired Gingrich to advise them on government and policy and to lobby for them.

Gingrich is only in politics for the money. That is as clear as day.

Gingrich fail… who is next… maybe Huntsman has a shot, as he could be the last man standing, although it looks like Romney will win, not because anyone like him, it is because that is the only choice.

agreed on the gingrich fail. but as for who is next, romney has two problems with his base; his flip-flopping and his religion. huntsman shares the negatives of the religion part, but has the additional negative of less time in the national spotlight. perhaps santorum has a better shot? less time in the national spotlight, but a huge positive with the religious base and he projects a more serious demeanor in the debates (from the bits i have caught), where huntsman seems to want to be affable.

Look on the bright side. In the last several years liberal arts and history majors have been roundly admonished for their choice of study. That these degrees do not lead to employable skills. At least, they can now look forward to the prospect of $25 k monthly retainers.

“Anybody find that believable?” 22% of the Republican primary electorate does, according to recent opinion polls. To be fair, history lessons take a while to sink in, especially, such weighty ones. [The weight is counterbalanced by the buoyancy of a gasbag.]

How many history departments would vie for 1.8 million dollars of research funding?

When did advice on business model and lending practices become part of history curriculum? I suppose ‘pay-to-play’ falls under recent economic history and Gingrich is an expert in that field of study.

I think the sort of voter who still insists that poor, poor Marco Rubio is an exile/son of exiles/whatever the story is today will have no problem with the leap of imagination and torturing of language required to classify Gingrich as a housing historian.

“Newt Gingrich was so upset over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s political influence in 2008 that he urged Congress to launch an investigation into lawmakers who had taken donations. Gingrich did not mention at the time that he had received a reported $1.6 million from Freddie Mac over eight years to provide “strategic advice.””

No, no, no. You don’t get it. The strategic advice was to get Freddie and Fannie to corrupt Washington so that four years later Newt could gather the pitchforked proles and march down K-Y-Street to end the madness. This was the mother of all strategic advice. That’s why he was so expensive.

Probably because he’s carrying water for the GOP establishment who are wetting their pants at the idea of Newt coming within 100 miles of the nomination. It’s ok Fart understanding this is a bit above your pay grade.

Mr. Frum won’t have to think very hard at all. He would prefer Huntsman or Romney, in that order, but he WILL back the eventual GOP winner against the Hated Kenyan no matter how ridiculous the Republican is. You heard it from me first.

Support Obama? There are some lines that Mr. Frum just WILL NOT cross.

By the way – why haven’t we heard anything from FrumForum about Perry, Romney and Gingrich promising to zero-base the budget for future aid to Israel? I would have thought that giving such scrutiny to Israel’s previously unquestioned aid would raise a lot more hackles here than Obama’s mere mention (mention!) earlier this year of pre-1967 Israeli borders.

But the threat to aid to Israel came from Republicans, so – move on, nothing to see there.

I wish I could remember the exact words David Corn, of Mother Jones & MSNBC contributor, said early this morning about Newt’s “advising” statements. Corn said he contacted someone at Freddie and asked about Newt’s statement. The guy laughed and said Newt was hired to work them on getting GOP congressional support, including lobbying.

The Republican establishment are trying to smear Newt in case he starts to take off. He’s the last man standing that the right are falling in love with so like Cain he’s got to be disposed of. In a contrarian way I’d love Newt to be the Republican nominee he’s completely amoral but not stupid. At least then the choice would be stark. Who knows he might pull it off. I saw a lovely quote from Larry Summers “In politics the inconceivable has a way of rapidly becoming the inevitable.” So who knows. What I do know is the bulk of Republicans are going to be not only holding their noses but wearing gas masks if the establishment force Romney on them.

“What I do know is the bulk of Republicans are going to be not only holding their noses but wearing gas masks if the establishment force Romney on them.”

With every day that passes and every Not-Romney that comes and goes I am starting to think more and more they are just not going to be able to shove him down their throats.

Its scary to think that after all the unbelievable gaffes, scandals, baggage and outright buffoonery that there is still a good chance that Cain, Perry or Newt could be nominated. That’s how badly the base just does not want to vote for Mitt Romney.

I don’t know about a good chance but Gingrich has a long shot I think (the other two are history). Otherwise you’re entirely right that despite the Jersey Shore atmosphere surrounding the other candidates, Romney basically can’t get more than a quarter of the GOP to support him when he should be walking away with this. Ultimately if he’s the nominee Republicans will vote for him but it’s a shotgun marriage if I ever saw one. Normally Erick Erickson is crazy but he summed it up best when he said the GOP is about to nominate a Wall Street asset stripper who when he was in office governed very much like a Democrat and has a history of flip flopping all over the place that’s all been captured on tape….and Obama has $1 billion to tell people about it!

I would not be surprised to see Newt’s numbers go up, as Republican voters will simply ignore the charges and just focus on how it is unfair that Newt is being vetted. Just like how Cain’s numbers have held up. No matter how valid and damaging the charge, Republican voters will support their guy or increase their support.

They’re already starting to do this on the propaganda channel, Fox. Would anyone be really surprised? The culture warriors will get stupid people to vote against their own interests and put liars, deceivers and con men to run for President of the U.S.

Didn’t Newt have a scam business that sent letters to doctors and businesses, telling them them had won an award but they needed to sent $5k to attend a function to meet other award winners. I seem to remember he gave one to the owner of a topless bar in Dallas and word of it go out.

What is happening before our very eyes is that the GOP has become a corrupt machine, with not a shred of morality left. This is what happens what a national political party who used to be respected cheers liars (Gingrich) and phonies (Pain, Cain) and people with no core principles (Romney), and stupid time (Perry), and wackos (Bachmann).

This has the potential for a big scandal and to give Obama just what he needs… a Republican face on the banking scandal.

Newt was really dumb to make his Presidential bid about attacking the press… as if he needed anymore enemies… and to say any politician that benefited from Freddie Mac should be in jail… boy is he going down.

Calling people criminals, who have the records that can be spun to make you take the fall, is about the stupidest move I’ve seen yet. It is almost Freudian. As though Newt wants to get caught for the glory of a scandal.

I hope he doesn’t take the credibility of the whole field of candidates with him… I predict if this is still a story a week from now Newt drops out before the voting. Or that at least everyone disavows him…

“This has the potential for a big scandal and to give Obama just what he needs… a Republican face on the banking scandal.”

I’m not sure it has the potential for a big scandal but it certainly is a neutralizer for the Republican fairy stories about the origins of the banking crisis (Acorn, Barney Frank etc etc). Not that they were ever accurate but the average schmuck is easily conned. As to its impact on Newt’s chances this is harder to predict given much of the Republican base’s desperate desire to avoid the embrace of Romney. It’s quite possible they could look past this indiscretion and this seems to be borne out by a new poll that has Newt narrowly ahead of Romney even though the historian story has been around for a week.

It is a positive among Republicans to be a scumbag liar. The more bad things people find out about you the more Republican voters like you. The more they view you as being a victim of prosecution the more they like you.